What is IPC Section 390?
IPC Section 390 falls within Chapter XVII of the Indian Penal Code ("Of Offences Against Property"), within the group of sections dealing with robbery and dacoity (Sections 390-402). The section opens with the statement that "in all robbery there is either theft or extortion," establishing robbery not as a standalone offence with its own separate definition, but as an aggravated version of one of these two underlying offences.
The section then explains precisely when theft becomes robbery, and when extortion becomes robbery. Theft is robbery if, in order to commit the theft, while committing it, or while carrying away (or attempting to carry away) the stolen property, the offender voluntarily causes or attempts to cause death, hurt, or wrongful restraint, or puts the victim in fear of instant death, instant hurt, or instant wrongful restraint. Extortion is robbery if the offender, being physically present before the victim, commits the extortion by putting the victim in fear of instant death, instant hurt, or instant wrongful restraint to the victim or another person, and thereby induces the victim to deliver up the property then and there. Punishment for robbery is prescribed separately under Section 392 (10 years' rigorous imprisonment and fine, extending to 14 years if committed on a highway between sunset and sunrise), with further aggravated punishments for robbery involving voluntary hurt (Section 394) and dacoity (Sections 395-402, applying where five or more persons jointly commit or attempt robbery).
Important Update: IPC to BNS Transition
With effect from 1 July 2024, the Indian Penal Code has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 for offences committed on or after that date. Section 390 IPC now corresponds to Section 309 of the BNS, which retains the identical definition of robbery and its distinction from theft and extortion, along with the same punishment structure (now consolidated within Section 309 itself, rather than in a separate section). FIRs registered before 1 July 2024 continue to be tried under IPC 390/392; incidents after that date are registered under the corresponding BNS provision.
Legal Provision — Text of Section 390 IPC
The Code provides several illustrations: a person who holds a victim down and forcibly takes their money commits robbery (theft aggravated by wrongful restraint); a person who shows a pistol and demands a purse, causing the victim to surrender it out of fear of instant hurt, also commits robbery (extortion aggravated by presence and instant fear). However, extortion by a threat to harm a person or their property at some future, non-instant point in time (such as a kidnapping-for-ransom style threat where the demand is not made in the victim's immediate presence) is extortion, but not robbery.
Related Punishment — Section 392 and Aggravated Forms
| Punishment for Robbery (Section 392) | Rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and fine; extends to 14 years if committed on the highway between sunset and sunrise |
|---|---|
| Attempt to Commit Robbery (Section 393) | Rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 7 years, and fine |
| Robbery/Attempt Causing Hurt (Section 394) | Imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years, and fine, for the offender and any others jointly concerned |
| Dacoity (Section 395) | Robbery committed by 5 or more persons jointly — imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years, and fine |
| Nature of Offence (S.392) | Cognizable, Non-Bailable, Non-Compoundable, triable by a Magistrate of the First Class |
| Related Provisions | Section 378 (definition of theft), Section 383 (definition of extortion), Sections 392-402 (punishment for robbery and dacoity) |
Key Ingredients / Essential Elements of Robbery
An underlying act of theft or extortion
Robbery does not exist independently; it is always built upon either a completed/attempted theft or a completed extortion.
For theft-based robbery: voluntary causing or attempting instant harm
The offender must voluntarily cause or attempt to cause death, hurt, or wrongful restraint (or fear of the same, occurring instantly) in order to commit the theft or to escape with the stolen property.
For extortion-based robbery: presence and instant fear inducing immediate delivery
The offender must be physically present before the victim and must induce immediate delivery of the property through fear of instant death, hurt, or wrongful restraint.
Immediacy is the defining element
What separates robbery from simple theft or extortion is the requirement that the harm/fear and the resulting delivery or escape occur essentially simultaneously — not at a later, separated point in time.
Robbery vs. Theft and Extortion
Since robbery is expressly defined as an aggravated form of theft or extortion, understanding the distinction requires focusing on the added element of instant force or fear. Simple theft (Section 378) involves taking property without consent, without any accompanying violence or threat. Simple extortion (Section 383) involves inducing delivery of property through fear, but the fear need not be of instant harm, and the offender need not be physically present when the fear is created (for example, a threatening letter sent from a distance).
Robbery requires this additional element of immediacy and physical proximity — either force/fear used at the moment of taking or escaping (for theft-based robbery), or the offender's presence combined with fear of instant harm inducing immediate delivery (for extortion-based robbery). This is why courts carefully examine the timeline and circumstances of each case: a snatching incident where force is used to escape with a bag would typically be robbery, whereas a threat made over the phone demanding money to be transferred later would remain extortion, not robbery.
What Should You Do — For Complainants and For the Accused
If You Have Been a Victim of Robbery
- File an FIR immediately at the nearest police station — being cognizable, the police must register the complaint and investigate.
- Provide details of any force or threats used, along with descriptions of the offender(s) and any weapons involved, since these details help establish the aggravated nature of the offence.
- Seek medical attention and documentation if you sustained any injury during the incident, as this may support charges under Section 394 (robbery causing hurt).
If You Are Accused of Robbery
- Engage a criminal lawyer immediately to assess bail options, since robbery under Section 392 is non-bailable.
- A key defence is to challenge whether the essential element of "instant" force or fear, required to elevate simple theft or extortion to robbery, is actually established.
- Where multiple persons are involved, carefully assess whether the facts meet the five-or-more-person threshold for dacoity (a more serious charge) versus ordinary robbery.
Important / Landmark Cases on Section 390
Venu @ Venugopal v. State of Karnataka (2008)
The Supreme Court examined a case where the accused robbed victims on a highway by threatening them with a knife, and clarified that Section 390 IPC defines the substantive concept of robbery (as theft or extortion aggravated by fear of death, hurt, or wrongful restraint), while Section 392 provides the punishment, which is enhanced where the robbery is committed on a highway between sunset and sunrise.
Distinguishing Robbery From Extortion by Timing and Presence
Courts have consistently applied the principle that for extortion to become robbery, the offender must be present before the victim, and the fear created must be of instant harm, inducing immediate delivery — a threat conveyed remotely, or a demand for future delivery, does not meet this threshold and remains simple extortion.